"Phaethon is a character in Greek mythology. He is the son of the sun god Helios who carries the sun across the sky each day in his horse-drawn chariot. As the Greeks tell it, one day Phaethon approached his father and asked him if he could drive the chariot. Helios refused, saying that the horses were much too powerful for Phaethon to control. Zeus himself could not control them. Phaethon implored his father until finally Helios relented. As his father predicted, Phaethon lost control of the horses. The chariot careened wildly across the sky, coming so close to the earth that fires began to rage. Zeus, watching this catastrophe unfold, took action by launching a lightning bolt at Phaethon. It struck him and he plunged to his death." PHAETON by Desmond McRory - 12 x 16 in., oil on board • $1,600